This website is intended to provide you with information only. This information is not intended to replace professional medical care. If you believe that you may suffer from a physical or emotional impairment, seek help from a licensed health care professional. The exercises provided within this web site are to be used at your own discretion and under professional guidance. They are not offered in substitution for medical advise or treatment. Our goal is to complement medical care by encouraging healing of the body, mind, and spirit. Best results are obtained by exercising common sense and body awareness in the practice of Kundalini yoga and meditation, and supplementing it with a healthy diet and lifestyle.

IKYTA - International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association

Picture called "Psychic Energy System," by Alex Grey, from

"Sacred Mirrors," c. 1990, Pub. Inner Traditions International.

The picture on this page can be

ENLIGHTENING OR FRIGHTENING?

It's called the "Psychic Energy System," and the original portrait is a whopping 84 inches by 46 inches. It was painted by the artist Alex Grey, and is from a book called "Sacred Mirrors." It shows the major Chakras (communication centers) from the base of our spine to the top of our head, (I added the numbers, including the word Aura, which Yogi Bhajan calls the 8th chakra).

It shows the major meridians, (channels of energy) as white lines that run throughout the inside of the body. The entire body is immersed in and interpenetrated by an oceanic lattice of energy, which represents the prana. It also shows the skeletal system, cardiovascular system (red and blue), nervous system and the lymphatic system (yellow).

When I first saw this picture, called the "Psychic Energy System," I myself was quite overwhelmed by what I saw and how it reminded me of all the subtle energies inside of me and around me. It's all me so what is there to be frightened of? In my 29 years of teaching Kundalini Yoga I have listened to various stories of what people generally call a Kundalini Experience. Most are positive and a few were just incredible. Though a few people have had an alarming experience, it's not the Kundalini to blame, it's you and your imbalance with life. Kundalini is just the blueprint of your soul, and when it rises, your rise to connect to your soul body. Your soul is the foundation of ten bodies and your physical body is the container for the other nine. Then you have an eleventh which is not really a body, it's your command center. Are you in command of your life and can you balance the ten bodies to all work together? Do you even know what I am talking about? If not, when you experience something that you do not understand or you misunderstand, it can cause fear and false conceptions. To understand a Kundalini Experience, there are many basic things that are essential for you to know first. Like electricity, if you don't know what electrons, volts, amps, and insulators are, it can be a shocking experience. And to confuse things even more... What you see in the picture is not real!

"...Kundalini, Chakras...these are all imaginary things."

-Yogi Bhajan.

It's called maya - the illusion, by yogis and the Holographic Universe, by the quantum scientist.

"The self and any of its material interests in spite of how compelling they are, are an illusion.

-"Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., physicist and writer

Remember, you are just visiting time and space, to find your place, which is beyond space, into Infinity. Have I lost you? If so, read on and I will try to come to earth and explain what can't be explained. Let me take a few pages from a book I am writhing, to paint a better picture:

KundaliniIn In Any Dialect,

Is "The The Blueprint Of The Soul."

Authored by, Ram Dass Bir Singh Khalsa c. 1996. All Is One.

"Kundalini is a natual element that rapidly makes you what you already are, and brings you to the practical experience of infinity. What is going to be uncoiled in you, is already in you."

-Yogi Bhajan

There was a time when I couldn't even pronounce this word Kundalini, (Kun-dah-lee-nee). That was back in 1972, before I had ever taken a class, in any type of yoga or meditation. (At least in this incarnation.) At that time I was working with hypnosis and trying to find out if such things as ESP, Astral Projection, and Past Life Experiences are in fact, factual. However, as I continued in my search to be healthy, wealthy, and wise, this word Kundalini kept popping up.

I had no interest in the supernatural, occult, and especially in becoming spiritual. After all I had been a magician and knew that all this esoteric stuff was simply done with slight of hand, misdirection, and mirrors. I certainly didn't need mysterious words like Kundalini to explain nothing more than hocus-pocus. I knew that self-induced hypnosis (even though someone may not know if he or she is hpnotized) can give a person the ability to see and feel whatever they imagine, called self induced hallucinations. Your imagination or thoughts, create an image or sensation through the chemistry and neurons in the brain, that you belive to be real.

I had enough problems trying to digest all the mind blowing stuff that I had encountered from: past lives, remote viewing, metaphysics, and spirits. Yet there was something stirring inside of me. A force--yet not a force--a kind of energy that seemed to have its own wisdom, its own sort of spirit. As I learned more about this energy and the chakras, it spirited me beyond the thought of even being spiritual. Into sort of just being who I am. At first I felt as if I was losing a part of me. I found my desire to be a playboy, along with riding expensive cars and extravagant women l-e-a-v-i-n-g me. My longing to acquire millions of dollars, with a million dollar estate, was becoming just a state--TO BE FREE.

As wave, upon wave, of desire left me - like the waves upon a lake - I soon found myself perceiving bits of my dharma, or my destiny. It frightened me at first, seeing images of myself all dressed in white, with hundreds of people chasing after me, like I was some kind of sage. They all wanted what I had found--yet, I wasn't even sure, I wanted it myself? With questions like: Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going? And what is this feeling, that is rising up in my spine? Why do I feel--I AM BEYOND SPACE AND TIME? Could I be--GOING OUT OF MY MIND? With impressions of: nothingness, yet everything; sensations of fear, yet fearlessness; and feelings of emptiness, yet ecstasy--I was soon guided into a Kundalini Yoga class as taught by Yogi Bhajan, and found myself chanting, "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo," soon afterwards--EVERYTHING WAS FINE!

This mantra is universal, and a connection to our Infinite-Self. It goes beyond time and space, nevertheless is connected to time and space, to guide us and inspire us - so that we may not unduly perspire, as we embrace ourInfinite-Face within our Finite-Self. To know that beyond time, we can all be fine; and beyond space, we can all have our own place. That I am me, within me.

"I am me. There is one place for you, within you, where you can hang in and not be touched. This place is beyond all that is imaginable, in existence, in feelings, in reality, and in non-reality. That I still hold myself as me. Can you even think of it?

-Yogi Bhajan

I soon learned that I was embracing my soul, and in that process we become who we really are. Remember our soul doesn't need expensive cars or extravagant men and women. It doesn't need millions of dollars, and is always in its own state. It doesn't care if we are bad, mad, or stuck into some kind of fad. It doesn't care what our religion is, or even if we are an atheist. For our soul is spiritual, with its own spirit; a spirit that can take us beyond all religions - to our origin. Beyond our nothingness, beyond our fears, and beyond our feelings of: emptiness, misery, pain, suffering, and death. Beyond all, where we know the answers to all our questions, before we can even ask the question.

"Knowledge ,strength, wisdom, is all within you. It has to be triggerd, that's all."

-Yogi Bhajan

Why are some people afraid of their KUNDALINI?

It's only a lack of Kundalini, that will allow fear to manifest. Kundalini is the light that will expose the fears. These fears are nothing more than a lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of who we are. These misconceptions may have roots so deep, that when pulled, they may do a little kicking and screaming at first, but if we let go and don't react--the kundalini energy will remove the weeds, so we can grow and accept our soul. It's only fear of letting go, and going into infinity to experience our Infinite-Self, because that's who we are. Once the kundalini totally rises and does its thing - there is nothing that we will not know or fear!

Why did the teachers of old say that Kundalini Yoga was dangerous and had to be learned from a Master?

To keep people from practicing this powerful technology and misusing the powers, without learning humility first. Some teachers simply had no real experience or knowledge of kundalini yoga. A good example was Gopi Krishnas first book called Kundalini -The Evolutionary Energy in Man, c.1967.

"The many schools of thought concerning Kundalini make for confusion rather than clarification. However, Kundalini is the essential Energy in each, and the steps laid out must be followed with care."

-Swami Sivananda Radha,

Kundalini Yoga for the West."

Why does someone feel heat, as the Kundalini rises?

This heat is called tapa. At times, we can feel this heat as it burns the karma. If we have a lot of trash to burn, it can become quite a bonfire. So take it slow, and burn a small pile at a time.

Why might someone's body jerk, as the Kundalini rises?

If we believe that a jerking body is a sign of our kundalini raising, then our belief will cause our body to jerk. Yogi Bhajan calls it Jerk-Yoga. Excessive toxins throughout our body can obstruct the flow of energy and cause a vibration in the corresponding space. It may be felt as a slight trembling. It will soon pass as the toxins are eliminated. A weak nervous system can also cause vertigo (dizziness and confusion). That's why in Kundalini Yoga, we do kriyas (exercises/meditations) to build up our nerve strength first. Generally we start a kriya with a time of 3 minutes, then add one minute a day, to slowly detox and increase our stamina.

Why do some people keep the Kundalini down and put a lock on it?

Because when it rises, it unlocks the qualities of compassion, kindness, and fulfillment; it leaves no room for hatred, malice, and greed.

Can someone have hallucinations?

Beliefs, mental illness and drugs, can all cause temporary movies. If we see a baby dancing, just let it go and go beyond all sensory feedback. If you believe that you will see a certain image, than your own belief can be the cause of it. Don't give any energy to your beliefs, desires, or thoughts. Let them go! Chant Sat Nam Wahey Guru, and dissolve the thought or image with the power of its vibration.

"The Kundalini Experience does not mean you have gone into a deep breathless trance and are filled with inner lights. It integrates you more fully with reality and gives you a broader vision and sensitivity so that you can act more efficiently."

-M.S.S. Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., 1993

Again I repet: Do you find that meditating on the painting at the top of the page is enlightening or frightening? Remember--meditation can confront you with old habit patterns, beliefs, attachments, convictions, identities, past incarnations, and bring out your deepest fears. If you peer deep into yourself, you just might find yourself confronted by your fears. However your fears are nothing more than impulses in your brains that are sent along pathways, called axons and dendrites. They travel from the nucleus of the neurons, to the synaptic buttons, that push your buttons and cause you to react. Could your samskaras, your karmic programs from your past, be linked to the quantum electro/chemical patterns and actions of the neurons in your brain? Kundalini is the energy to reprogram the toxic patterns of your brain. Kundalini is the blueprint of your soul. It's up to you to start building.

Why might someone feel strange when their Kundalini Rises?

As your Kundalini rises, it will make you more sensitive to your inside self. If your body is full of animal and fish vibrations from eating meat you may feel like a cow, fish, or pig. This is just one of the reasons why yogis are vegetarians. It takes up to seven years to eliminate the pranic imprint of what you put into your body. And dead animal flesh with all its hormones, can paint quite a picture inside of your subtle body.

Is raising the Kundalini difficult and what about psyhic powers, siddhis, or supernatural abilities that one can acquire from practing Kundalini Yoga?

"Raising your kundalini is not difficult. It happens so naturally when you practice Kundalini Yoga that you may not even recognize the actual moment that it happens. If you're expecting bells to ring, cannons to go off or lights to flash, forget it. Seeing visions, hearing sounds, having some physical sensation might sometimes seem quite impressive, but it can also be very misleading. Such phenomena are not the goal of the practice of Kundalini Yoga. There may be no physical sign at all, or possibly just a very slight indication. In case you do experience such things, don't let yourself get sidetracked. They don't prove anything. They are not the criteria for whether the kundalini has risen. Yogi Bhajan calls them 'glitter at the bottom of the ladder.' "

-"Kundalini Yoga The Flow Of Eternal Power,"

Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa, c.1996.

If you find yourself with psyhic powers, please don't stop practicing the yoga, and run off to become a Remote Viewer, as one of my yoga students did. Do not get lost in the glitter at the base of the mountain. Keep up until you reach the top - then you will truly know what to do with your life.

If you are someone who has risen your kundalini energy with confusing, frightful, or undesirable results. I would say you were without the proper guidance, knowledge, and technique of a genuine KUNDALINI YOGA Instructor. That your body was full of toxic emitons, toxic attachments, and toxic habits,--Kundalin will confornt them and it's up to you to let them go. From phobisa to an overblown ego, from fears to ignorance, and from guilt to blame--Kundalini will try to eliminate all attachments to them.

Can you let go and grow, so that you may glow!

It wasn't until 1969 when Yoga Bhajan came to the United States and began to unfold the true knowledge of Kundalini yoga--that we had a genuine map, of this wondrous divine technology--as the true science of Kundalini yoga was kept secret for thousands of years. Let's check out a book that some of us may have read. It's called "Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man," by Gopi Krishna c. 1967, Pub. Shambhala:

"Pulling the cover over my face, I stretched myself to my full length on the bed, burning in every fiber, lashed as it were by a fiery rain of red-hot needles piercing my skin." He then remembers, "Could it be that I had aroused kundalini through pingala, the solar nerve which regulates the flow of heat in the body and is located on the right side of sushumna?" Then as if by the help of his Divine-self, "The idea flashed across my brain to make a last-minute attempt to rouse ida, the lunar nerve on the left side, to activity, thus neutralizing the dreadful burning effect of the devouring fire within." He goes on to say, "I brought my attention to bear on the left side of the seat of kundalini and tried to force an imaginary cold current upward through the middle of the spinal cord".

Always remember that if you find yourself getting extremely hot, to simply breathe long and deep through your left nostril only, until you cool down.

"I distinctly felt the location of the nerve [left side] and strained hard mentally to divert its flow into the central channel. There was a sound like a nerve thread snapping and instantaneously a silvery streak passed zigzag through the spinal cord, exactly like the sinuous movement of a white serpent in rapid flight, pouring an effulgent, cascading shower of brilliant vital energy into my brain, filling my head with a blissful luster in place of the flame that had been tormenting me for the last three hours." -Gopi Krishna

Remember:

Left Side (Ida) is Cool Energy - Moon

Right Side (Pingala) Is Warm Energy - Sun

My first genuine Kundalini Yoga teacher

Gurucharan Singh Khalsa, comments that:

"He [Gopi Krishna] had no master or technique to raise Kundalini. That by haphazard meditation, he drew on the energy without physically preparing his body with breath or mantra. Consequently, he had a negative experience. In Kashmir, I asked Gopi Krishna why he wrote about such experiences without emphasizing that this is not the experience when actually practicing Kundalini Yoga. He replied, 'I still do not understand the Kundalini. The experience has been with me for 27 years. I have translated the old texts, but they are written in a symbology code.' "

Kundalini Can Untie The Knots Of Life.

Let's have some fun with words. See if you can follow them.

We spend lifetimes creating: patterns, projections, and philosophies; we accumulate: fear, frustration, and failure; these become like a cluster of knots that keep us tied to distress, difficulty, and discomfort. We all need to do our best, to put all these disturbances, disorders, and distractions to rest, so that we can all rest--before we choke ourselves, on our own knots. These knots can block the life energy that flows throughout the circuitry in our physical bodies, to our various organs like our small intestine or the kidneys.

It is said that "an imbalance in our small intestine meridian can produce emotional imbalances." It is also said that "an imbalance in our kidney meridian can be the cause of fear." So if a blocked or over stimulated energy channel can produce emotional imbalances and fears, than could not these fears cause us to misinterpret what we see, feel, and sense.

Do we blame the energy--the Kundalini--that tries to unblock them, or do we learn how to propley unblock them through a qualified Kundalini Yoga Instructor.

The Key To Kundalini Yoga.

"We Begin Every Kundalini Yoga Class Or Practice Session By Chanting A Special Mantra. This Is For Protection And Guidance, And To Help Us Tune Into The Part Of Us Which Wants To Grow And Expand."

-"Kundalini Yoga - For Body,Mind, and Beyond,"

by Ravi Singh c. 1988.

The special mantra, called the Adi Mantra is:

"Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo."

This is the secret to a safe, powerful, and effective Kundalini Yoga class. It should be learned from a qualified teacher.

"This Mantra is chanted before every class or practice session involving Kundalini Yoga. If you read most old books about yoga, they say Kundalini Yoga is the most powerful of all yogas, but that it is dangerous. The fact is that if you practice it in correct form, chant a universal Nam, [mantra] and humble yourself before the higher self or teacher, it is perfectly safe. The Adi Mantra opens the protective channel of energy for Kundalini Yoga."

-"Kundalini Yoga / Sadhana Guidelines," by

M.S.S. Gurucharan Singh Khalsa c. 1974.

"Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" means, " I Call On The Infinite Divine Guru Of Wisdom That Is Within Me, To Guide Me And To Protect Me."

Kundalini Yoga, by Shakta Kaur Khalsa, c. 2001, is published by DK. It is a simple book that makes learning Kundalini Yoga very easy, except from a yoga class. It's a basic book full of pictures, meditations, and exercises, to unlock your inner potential. It's all based on the teachings of the Master of Kundalini Yoga, Yogi Bhajan. This book is the real thing.

"What is Kundalini Yoga? Rise Before You Fall."

-Yogi Bhajan

"As One Opens The Door With A Key One Should Open The Gate To Liberation With Kundalini Yoga."

-Hatha Yoga Pradipika

8 Steps To Balancing The Kundalini Energy!

This is important and I will explain it in detail. If you are having trouble with Kundalini, and you can't see a qualified Kundalini Yoga Teacher, at least take the time to read and practice this meditation to balance yourself and connect you to your inner guide or Guru.

1:If you ever feel this energy rising, or you desire it to rise; you should sit in an easy cross-legged position with your spine straight or in a chair with both feet on the ground with your weight equally distributed between them. It's important to balance the weight on the left and right sides of the body to your exact center and straighten your entire spine. The goal is to have the energy rise up the exact center of your spine. If you are sitting with your body off to one side, or if you spine is bent, it will cause restrictions to the flow of energy.

2: Pull your chin back, called neck lock. You neck is not down, as in some pictures, it is slightly in. If the neck is not pulled back to straighten the spine, then it will block the flow of energy, which can cause an excessive pressure on the rest of your body. This is the cause of dizziness, uncomfortable heat, and excessive strain.

3: Press the palms of the hands and the fingers together. Make them straight with the fingers pointed up, and then press them, with the backs of the thumbs into the center of the chest, at the sternum or heart chakra. This is called Prayer Pose. This will help to balance the left and right sides (ida and pingala) and open the Heart Chakra.

4: Focus your closed eyes on the point between your eyebrows and slightly up, called your third eye. This is your command center and will help you to be in command of yourself.

5: Inhale deeply through the nose and chant the Adi Mantra "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo," from three to five times. Make a connection to the Guru within you. (Click on the mantra to learn how to chant it.)

6: You are now ready to direct the energy up the exact center of your spine, out the top of your head and around your physical body, as a bright protective and healing light. This is called your auric body or 8th chakra. Do not stop at the top of your head or fill your head with energy (you do not want your head to get over-loaded), let it travel out the top or tenth gate and fill your aura. This will heal and balance all your chakras. This will give you a bright protective aura.

7: Ask "Guru Dev" (your infinite transparent self) to help you balance yourself and for guidance. Any negative thoughts or emotions should be neutralized with a powerful mantra like "Wahe Guru!"

"Waa-hey Guru"

8: Inhale deep through the left nostril and exhale completely through the right nostril. Then inhale deep through the right nostril and exhale completely through the left nostril. Use your thumb or finger to close one nostril and to breath through the other. Continue for 3 to 11 minutes, to balance and open your prana nadis. (To make it even more effective - you can mentally vibrate a mantra like Sat Nam as you inhale and Wahey Guru as you exhale.)

To end: inhale through both nostrils and hold a few seconds and thank the Guru within you, which is you. Relax and enjoy the experience.

Kundalini Rising

When the Kundalini energy rises within you--you rise. It should go up the exact center of your spine, to keep you at your center. If too much energy goes up the right side of your body, through a channel called Pingala,sun energy, you can overheat. If too much energy goes up the left side of your body, through a channel called Ida,moon energy - you can freeze. That's why you sit straight.

If you feel too hot, excited, or agitated - try breathing only through your left nostril, as you inhale you meditate on the energy going down the left side of your body to the base of your spine, and as you exhale up the exact center of your spine, until you cool down.

If you are too cold, gloomy, or depressed - try breathing only through the right nostril. As you inhale you meditate on the energy going down the right side of your body to the base of your spine, and as you exhale, up the exact center of your spine, until you warm up. (Close one nostril with your thumb, to breath through the other.)

You can mentally chant any mantra as you breathe like Sat Nam on the inhale and Wahe Guru on the exhale. This will help to keep your mind focused, connect you to your true identity, and break through emotional blocks.

If yo are still to hot, and left nostril breathing doesn't cool you down, try the "Sitali Pranayam Breath." You sit straight, curl the tongue into a "U," and then protrude it slightly past your lips. You inhale through the rolled sides of the tongue, and exhale through the nose. Do this till you cool down, 3 to 11 minutes. It is even good for fevers.

Picture of Kundalini Rising as described by Yogi Bhajan, drawn by Hector Hara, from Kundalini Yoga, by Shakta Kaur Khalsa, Published by DK books c. 2001.

"The picture above shows the actual path of the Kundalini Rising. When you practice Kundalini Yoga and have a true Kundalini Experience, the Kundalini energy mixes below the navel at the seat of the Kundalini, descends to the root chakra, spirals up the Shushmana (the central column of the spine) to the pineal and pituitary glands in the brain, makes a double loop at the throat chakra, flows down through the heart center, navel, and root chakra, and returns to its starting point."

-Quotation fom a poster "The Awakened

Kundalini," published by IKYTA

"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mystical. It is the power of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness."